Argentine who survived Florida shooting: "It was the worst day of my life."

share it

Students are evacuated by police from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, after a shooter opened fire on the campus. | AFP/FEDERICO PARRA

Sol Duarte, a 14-year-old Argentine
who survived the
massacre at a Florida high
school on Wednesday in which
17 people were killed, recalled
the horror, terror and uncertainty
she and her peers experienced
in an interview on
Thursday.

Duarte said she was bodies
lying on the ground and “blood
everywhere.” She also explained
that she heard shots while
being evacuated from the
school by police officers, after
having hid for more than two
hours in her classroom.

“It was the worst day of my
life,” she said in an interview
with the Télam state news agency.
“We saw children and students
lying on the floor, bleeding.
We saw horrible things.”

The teenager, who is in her
ninth year at the Marjory Stoneman
Douglas High School in
the town of Parkland, said that
in the middle of a class they began
to notice strange sounds
that were coming across the
intercom system used to deliver
announcements to students.

“The caller provided information
about Cruz’s gun ownership,
desire to kill people, erratic
behavior, and disturbing social
media posts, as well as the potential
of him conducting a
school shooting,” it said.

The information was not handled
appropriately, however, the
top US law enforcement agency
said, and no action was taken.

Cruz, 19, shot dead 17 people
on Wednesday using an AR-15-
style rifle that he had legally
purchased.